Chapter 7: A Declaration, A Fire, and A Great Escape

"Gudmund? What are you doing here?"

The great troll shook its massive head. "To tell you that you have not broken Mathias Fisher's curse."

"I could have gleaned that myself," Mathias said sarcastically.

"He knows why he's been cursed. Surely that's enough to break the spell?" Lukas asked.

In a puff of smoke, a scroll of parchment appeared. Mathias recognized it as the one he and Lukas had signed when they'd made their contract. The scroll unraveled, revealing text so fine that Mathias had to squint to see it.

Gudmund pointed at a spot midway down the wall of text. "It should be here… Ah, yes. 'Only when he breaks your curse shall his curse be broken," said the troll.

Two pairs of eyes settled on him in disbelief. "You jest," Lukas said dangerously,

Mathias was uncharacteristically silent as he stared at his hands. He shook his head.

"The contract you signed changed the nature of your curses. You agreed to shoulder each other's burdens until death, so shoulder them you shall," stated Gudmund.

Lukas glanced over at Mathias, looking meek with his head bowed and his eyes focused on his hands. He placed one of his slim magician's hands on Mathias's trembling shoulder. When he spoke, concern colored his voice. "…Mathias?"

Suddenly, Mathias's head shot up and he locked eyes with Lukas with a gaze of blue fire. "I'll do it," he proclaimed, his voice as hard as steel, "I'll break your curse, Norge, just ya watch. You'll be free from the strange temperature thing in no time." He punctuated his statement with a large grin.

Lukas relaxed, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'll hold you to it," he answered. Aversion to housework aside, Mathias was obnoxiously, inhumanly, endearingly persistent in matters of the heart. Because of this, Lukas felt that he could trust Mathias with his curse. He would find a way to break the ice surrounding Lukas's heart.

Gudmund seemed pleased at Mathias's declaration. "You've found yourself in good hands, Sorcerer," the troll said, "even if those hands are made of stone."

"It is because those hands are made of stone," answered Lukas, "that they are good hands."

Mathias blushed. "Thank you both," he said, "just leave it all to me."

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave," said the Troll. "If you need me, you may summon me at any time." With a puff of green smoke, Gudmund was gone. Lukas turned to Mathias.

"You'll break my curse, then, Mathias Fisher? You seem mighty optimistic about it," he teased.

To Lukas's surprise, Mathias remained completely serious. "I'll break it, a'course," he stated, "someone as kind as you doesn't deserve to be cursed."

Lukas turned away, hiding the warmth of his cheeks from his friend. "I could say the same for you," he said, "but your hands are stone and my—" the words caught in his throat and he ended his statement with a small choke. Of course this curse prevents me from saying anything about it, he thought dejectedly.

Mathias raised an eyebrow. His what? He wondered, must be part of the curse he's under. He shook the feeling off. It was probably better to keep quiet about Lukas's little choke for now. "Yeah, well…" he began, trying to reclaim his train of thought, "I made a mistake. Now that I know, I'll work to correct it so nobody gets hurt in the future, an' Miss Monique doesn't curse me again. She's a terror, I hear. Might do some good for me to apologize."

Lukas smiled. "That's a start."

"Well, it's about time for Berg to pick me up," said Mathias, "I should get ready."

"Hold on," interrupted Lukas, "did you—?"

"Of course!" Mathias laughed, motioning to the foot-mops, which were stacked neatly by the shelves. Lukas looked down.

He could see his face in the shine of the newly-cleaned floor.

XxX

"King Ivan, General Laurinaitis is here to see you."

"Send him in."

General Toris Laurinaitis, clad in ornate golden armor denoting his high military status, marched into King Ivan's throne room and knelt. "Your majesty," he greeted.

"You may rise," said the King, "what concerns you so, General?"

General Laurinaitis rose and saluted. "Our spies in Irale tell us that Oliennon will launch an attack on several of our port cities in retaliation of the burning of their city of Cygnus."

"Which of our ports will be targeted?" asked King Ivan, worry creasing his noble brow.

"It appears that they are already headed for Walerford, Haniver, and Little-Whirling-By-The-Sea, your majesty," answered the General.

King Ivan slammed his fist against the golden armrest of his throne. "Take defensive platoons A, B, and C. Stake out the coastline of each port. Under any circumstances, do not let the Olienns through."

General Laurinaitis saluted. "Yes, your majesty." With King Ivan's permission, he left the throne room. The King slumped over in his throne miserably.

We are at war, he thought, we really are at war.

XxX

The frantic pounding on the door of the Sorcerer Norge's shop was far from unusual. What made it so worrisome was the time at which it happened.

The dark of night had already settled in and most of the inhabitants of Little Whirling were long asleep. Emil drowsily answered the door to find four familiar faces.

The first was Leon, in dinged and dented Olienn armor, panicked and covered in soot and grime.

The second and third were Berg and his sister, whom Emil recognized as Belle Huizinga, the owner of the flower shop across the market square. On her arm was a drawstring bag that looked like the work of the magician Pretorus, whose Purses of Infinity were popular with those who needed to carry many things without expending too much effort.

The fourth and last, leaning on Berg's shoulder, struck the most fear into Emil's heart. It was Mathias, battered and burnt, face and hair darkened with soot, breathing raggedly, the precise picture of disaster.

Panic rose in Emil. "What happened?" he cried, helping the foursome into the shop. "Why is Mathias hurt? What are you doing here?"

Leon looked somber as Mathias was laid on the sofa. "It's the Olienns," he said sadly, "they've attacked several coasts in Acacia, Little Whirling included. They were just beaten off by the Acacian defenses stationed at the waterfront, but not before they set fire to several of the houses. Mathias Fisher's residence was one of them."

"The fires have been contained," said Berg, "Belle and I were about to leave for the north when we ran into these two."

Emil's shouts brought a sleepy Lukas into the parlor just in time to hear Leon's story. He rushed to Mathias's side. "You can't be serious," he cried, cradling Mathias's sooty visage in his hands.

"Deathly so," Leon replied solemnly.

Lukas let out a grunt and cast his eyes around the darkened room. "Emil," he commanded, "bring me some hot water, towels, and my wand. And by the Gods, turn on a light."

"Consider it done," answered Emil, scurrying off to bring the requested items.

Mathias stirred, his cerulean eyes hazy. "Lu…kas?"

"Shh," Lukas said, "don't waste your strength. I'll help you."

Within moments, Emil returned with towels draped over his arm, a bowl of hot water in his hands, and Lukas's wand between his teeth. "Thank you," said Lukas, allowing himself a brief smile at his assistant. Everyone watched as he cut away Mathias's tattered clothing and washed away the soot on his face and body, revealing bright pink burn marks where the flames had licked him too harshly.

Emil laid a hand on Leon's shoulder, causing the soldier to jump and cast his gaze around. "What's wrong, love?" he asked, "you're safe here."

Leon shook his head, soot falling out of his dark hair. "I am not," he answered, "I ran from the Olienn soldiers when they started the fire. That was when I found Mathias. I'm sure that by now, I've been branded a traitor to the Kingdom of Oliennon. Queen Yao will have a warrant issued for my arrest."

"We will protect you," said Lukas, tossing the dirtied towel to the floor. "You saved Mathias's life. Emil, please bring me the willow bark, the gilded newt slime, and a mortar and pestle, please."

"Right away, sir." Emil handed the requested items to his master, who crushed the bark in the mortar and mixed it into the gilded newt slime to create a salve which he applied to Mathias's burns. "This will sting," he warned, "but it will keep these burns from getting infected."

Mathias moaned, low and pitiful, as the salve was applied. Lukas's lip trembled. "It's for your own good," he explained, "just stay still."

"Thank you, Sorcerer," Leon said, "I am in your debt."

"Worry not, soldier," Lukas replied hastily, "I need all of you to be silent now; healing spells require utmost concentration." He raised his wand, whose tip glowed blue. The incantations he mumbled were too low to be heard by the others, but when his lips ceased their movement, they saw the patches of salve on Mathias's body take on a blue glow akin to that of Lukas's wand. Mathias's troubled expression relaxed as the salve sank into his wounds, new pink skin growing where the fires had burned it away.

"He needs to rest for a while," Lukas said, rising, "but he'll be fine. Thank you for bringing him here." He turned to Berg and Belle. "You are carrying one of Pretorus's Purses of Infinity," he noted, "are you leaving town?"

Berg nodded. "Unfortunately. We have been preparing to leave the kingdom ever since the bombing of Barrell. When we heard about the attack on the waterfront, we packed everything we had into this purse and we are currently heading to the town of Nocht, in the Republic of Efizel to the north."

"That is a good idea," said Lukas, "we may have to relocate as well."

"I would recommend that you do so as soon as possible," said Berg, "the war will definitely escalate until the two kingdoms are brought to ruin." He glanced at the clock. "Well, it's about time for us to go if we want to make it out of the kingdom by sunrise."

"Before you go, take these with you." Lukas handed Berg a series of packets. "These contain powdered spells," he said, "the purple one is an explosive. The blue one will teleport you to the nearest body of water. Use that one wisely. And the green one will call upon a certain friend of mine should you ever need help. Use that only in a true emergency."

Berg bowed. "Thank you, Sorcerer. We hope your escape goes smoothly as well."

"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Until the next time we meet," said Lukas, "take care."

"Please watch over Mathias," Berg added, "he's an idiot, but he has a pure heart. Those are rare nowadays."

"Gladly. Farewell, and stay safe." He clasped Berg's hand. Behind him, Emil had broken out into silent tears, the severity of the situation not lost on the young apprentice. From the window, they watched the sibling pair leave and disappear into the night.

AN: yoooo it's been a wild ride
I'll be going back to college on Monday, so I'm trying to get as much writing done as I can.
Inspiration for this story comes and goes, but my muse feeds off of feedback! Reviews are devoured voraciously and used as writing fuel so if you have the time, please leave one!
Until next time, my lovelies~